The DriveSouth Rally of Otago is the third round of the New Zealand Rally Championship. This component of the event features New Zealand’s leading competitors in modern, state-of-the-art 4WD rally cars, together with the exciting ‘Kiwi 2’ 2WD cars.

The event also incorporates the International Classic Rally of Otago, for pre-1982, 2WD cars. This event has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception in 1997, to the point where it is the leading event of its type in the Southern Hemisphere.

In 2011 the Rally was won by NZ's Hayden Paddon, who then went on to win the World Production Car Rally Championship. NZ's rally championship is widely regarded as one of the most competitive in the world.

In recent years the Classic Rally has attracted former World Rally Champions Ari Vatanen, Juha Kankkunen and Hannu Mikkola from Finland, and Bjorn Waldegard from Sweden, as well as international stars Pasi Hagstrom, Piero Liatti, Jimmy and Alister McRae and Alex Fiorio.

Australian Ross Dunkerton has led a strong contingent of Aussies who have also been regulars at the event over the past 10 years.

The event will start in Dunedin's Octagon, with three night stages on Friday. The majority of the gravel special stages will be held on Saturday and Sunday, with the Rally of Otago’s traditional mix of challenging stages awaiting competitors.

The Rally of Otago also incorporates the ‘Allcomers Rally of Otago’. This is a separate event targeted at locals who have cars that are not eligible for either the Classic or NZRC events. This event forms a round of the popular “Laird Motorsport Southern Rally Series”.

All competitors, including those in the Classic Rally, have the option of purchasing organiser provided ‘computer generated’ pacenotes (using the Swedish “Jemba” system). For those that purchase the notes a one pass convoy reconnaissance is available.

Features of the Otago Rally include:
- Pre-event motorshow in the Octagon.
- 3 day rally, 17 special stages covering approximately 300km. Friday's stages are at night, while Saturday and Sunday's stage are all daylight.
- Downtown superstage in Dunedin, 4 laps of a city block. Fast and furious action which is hugely popular with the crowds.

All stages are gravel surface on both public and forestry roads, except for the tarmac “Super Special” stage, run in front of a large crowd in central Dunedin.

The rally is based in Dunedin. Favorite stages include ‘Kuri Bush’, ‘Whare Flat’, ‘Macintosh Rd’, and ‘Waipori Gorge’ (described by former British Rally Champion, Russell Brookes, as one of the best stages he had ever competed on).